Welcome one and all to the Sunday Digest! Like many this week I’ve been isolated inside and looking for things to do. But good news everyone! I’ve spent that time reading and compiling a truly fantastic list of history threads just for you! (yes YOU!) Ration this resource wisely and you’ll have plenty of reading material to get through the week. Just try not to spend to much time reddition on the throne. That threatens to deplete another very valuable resource as well.

• We kick this week off with a very special feature thread as part of our Women’s History Month efforts. Happy Women’s History Month from Women on the AH Moderation Team! (Yes, We Exist)

• Exciting news for the community! "History Upside Down": Announcing the AskHistorians Spring '20 Floating Features and Flair Drive Ever wanted a flair? Think you have the chops to help out the community? Now’s your chance! Check out the schedule and get writing!

• There’s also the next entry in our Rules Roundtable updates. Have a look at Rules Roundtable IV: "There is no such thing as a dumb question" - Policies on Scope, Premises, and Faulty Assumptions.

• There was a fantastic AMA this week as well! I'm Dr. Benjamin Park, author of "Kingdom of Nauvoo: The Rise and Fall of a Religious Empire on the American Frontier." AMA about Nauvoo, Joseph Smith, early Mormon history, or Mormonism in general! Thanks to /u/BenjaminEPark!

• The Thursday Reading and Recommendations thread.

• There’s tons of stuff in the Friday Free For All. Are you missing your graduation or commencement? Like pets? Or have a thing for archeology Then check the above!

• It’s the Saturday Showcase with /u/Klesk_vs_Xaero.

That ends us off for another week. Bunker down out there my fellow readers and look after yourselves. This to shall pass soon enough. Have yourselves a fantastic week!

Toss a coin to those overlooked but appreciated posts. This is a chance to shout out the questions that caught your eye but remain unanswered. Perhaps it will serve to inspire future question askers, or maybe attract the attention of a wandering expert!

• /u/Xaminaf asked Does anyone know some good resources on the oral histories of American indigenous groups?

• /u/TheHondoGod needs help piecing together Did the Byzantines make Mosaics, like early Greeks and Romans?

• /u/RandomCitizenOfEarth asked Did Emperor Ashoka really exist?

Worth drawing attention to a very odd query (which was also worded in such a way that its true oddness was not immediately apparent) that popped up this week. By the time I had assembled an adequate response it had nose-dived so far down the page that no one has seen it yet, but it was very interesting to research. Re-titled here to get the actual point across:

Is it true that a portrait of Cleopatra, painted in about 30 BCE by someone who had met her, was unearthed in Italy in 1818? What happened to the image?

For the picture itself, see image 4 here.

We enter week four of Women’s History Month, and this edition of the digest comes with a very special showcase! I’ve quite enjoyed revisiting some of the awesome older posts written both about women, and by women. Keep those themes going with yesterdays special feature thread:

Happy Women’s History Month from Women on the AH Moderation Team! (Yes, We Exist)

Five brilliant women sit down to share some thoughts on what its like running AskHistorians, writing History, dealing with reddit, and more!

But it wouldn’t be a Sunday Digest without a compilation of threads for you to read, and I always aim to please. So, lets take a look at some of the amazing contributions from our hard-working core of fantastic ladies!

~

/u/sunagainstgold is a prolific writer with an engaging writing style. Have a read through

• What is the scholarly consensus today on "No Irish Need Apply"? Did a high school girl really overturn everything we know?

• And then stop to wonder Why is Mary more important than Joseph?

Then stop in with the Queen of history. It’s /u/Mimicofmodes!

• There’s no Disney magic here, but Why did people think Anastasia survived/escaped the Romanov execution?

• Bundle up and relax with a great post on Is there historical context that aids us in interpreting Frank Loesser's "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (1944) within the sexual mores and societal expectations of the time?